A blog of the Missouri Department of Agriculture

December 03, 2013

In the News - Increasing Access to Ag Education in Missouri

Over the holiday weekend, the Associated Press released an article with some great news for all of Missouri agriculture. The article, titled "Five Missouri universities work to offer more agriculture classes" highlights efforts to increase opportunities for individuals studying agriculture in Missouri - regardless of their chosen emphasis area and their geographic location.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

Starting in fall 2014, some of these specialty classes will be offered through a combination of online instruction and two-way video feeds that allow instructors to communicate in real time with students at different campuses. Students might even make the occasional weekend trip to the campus teaching the course for some hands-on instruction, said Mike Aide, chairman of the Department of Agriculture at Southeast Missouri State University.

Aide’s Cape Girardeau school is participating in the effort along with Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri State University in Springfield, the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg and Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. Funding is coming from a $570,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.